Senior Director of Financial Aid, Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia (UVA), one of the nation's preeminent public institutions, seeks an experienced and mission-driven leader to serve as the Senior Director of Financial Aid at the Darden School of Business (Darden). The Senior Director joins Darden at a time of true excitement, opportunity, and a shared sense of purpose.

Darden is a top ranked business school offering an MBA in three different formats to approximately 1,200 students (1/3 of whom are international) on campuses in Charlottesville, Virginia, and, since 2017, in the Washington D.C., area.

The Senior Director of Financial Aid reports to Darden's Senior Assistant Dean and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and provides strategic leadership and oversight for the financial aid department while actively managing daily operations and executing key tasks to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of Darden's financial aid services.

Key Priorities

Working closely with the Senior Assistant Dean and CFO and through collaboration with other key stakeholders, the Senior Director provides comprehensive, empathetic, and accessible leadership while strengthening the Darden financial aid office's commitment to inclusive excellence. This involves promoting a healthy culture that is supportive, inclusive, equitable, collaborative, and high performing. The Senior Director advances priorities related to excellence, opportunity, affordability and fiscal sustainability.

Darden has implemented a need-based aid program, Access Darden , through which students from all backgrounds and nationalities are considered using the institutional methodology for need based aid. The Senior Director is responsible for analyzing student need and ultimately making the decision on Darden's behalf regarding the award and composition of financial aid packages.

In addition to managing Access Darden , the following focus areas, while not exhaustive, represent key areas and components of the Senior Director's responsibilities and priorities:

• Develop and implement an overarching financial aid strategy and deliver programming for the school.
  
• Supervise a team of three; train individual staff to leverage unique talents.
  
• Certify the delivery of all financial aid awards and maintain accurate records of financial resources.
  
• Communicate and interact with prospective and current students on financial matters.
  
• Oversee comprehensive analysis of student need, using applicable federal protocols and experienced professional judgment.
  
• In conjunction with staff members, provide individual entrance and exit counseling to students on financial issues such as debt management, loan repayment, financial literacy, and regulatory guidelines.
  
• Match admitted students to the restricted criteria of scholarship awards created by alumni and friends of Darden. Oversee the creation of the annual scholarship budget and collaborate with the admissions team on the size of awards made at the time of admission.
  
• Oversee the awarding process for second-year scholarships including the coordination of several competitive processes involving numerous constituents across Darden and the Darden School Foundation.
  
• Submit financial aid data to numerous survey organizations. Develop metrics and trend data for senior leadership of the school related to student indebtedness and related strategies for reducing burdens on students.
  
• Serve as the steward for student data on behalf of the school.
  
• Collaborate with others across UVA on behalf of Darden's students including Student Financial Services, Student Accounts, the University Registrar, and ITS-Enterprises.
  
• Coordinate with the University's student accounts team to assist students with third party contracts, veteran's benefits, and other billing and collection issues.
  
• Partner with numerous Darden colleagues and units including Advancement, Admissions, Career Services, and the Registrar.
  
• Occasional business travel to Sands Family Grounds, in Rosslyn, Virginia, to provide support to students based outside of Charlottesville.
  

Ideal Experience

The successful candidate will ideally possess the following professional qualifications, skills, experience, and personal qualities:

• Understanding of financial aid within a complex institution, including strong experience with utilization of a wide variety of funding sources and the awarding of varied types of financial aid, both merit- and need-based, to US and international students
  
• Demonstrated command of financial aid processes, systems, and tools in service of broader institutional goals
  
• Knowledge of - and ability to translate into practice - complex federal and state financial aid regulations
  
• Demonstrated compliance mindset and understanding of the creation of academic calendars, the financial aid implications of modular format academic programming, and ability to foresee the downstream impacts of decisions to advise school leadership
  
• Capability in analytics utilization to inform decision making and leverage strategic opportunities
  
• Demonstrated ability to run a small, complex team or unit within higher education
  
• Outstanding leadership ability and understanding of organizational and human dynamics
  
• Ability to attract, recruit, develop, motivate, and retain a high-performing staff; demonstrated commitment to building a diverse and inclusive team
  
• Excellent communicator and superb listener, with ability to build relationships, community, and influence
  
• Experience with strategic planning, project management, and process transformation
  
• Innovative, analytical, and creative in problem solving and implementing solutions
  
• Ability to work highly effectively at all levels and with diverse stakeholders, internally and externally, with a proven record of strong customer service
  
• Bachelor's degree required with at least 6 years of progressive, related experience, including at least 4 years of supervisory experience
  
  

Personal Attributes

The following personal attributes align with the role requirements for the Senior Director, and the successful candidate should possess:

• Intellectual curiosity and mental agility
  
• Flexibility and creativity in addressing challenges and opportunities in a fast-paced setting
  
• Empathy, compassion, and self-awareness
  
• Integrity, honesty, and commitment to equity
  
• Balanced and transparent approach to management
  

To Apply or Nominate
The University of Virginia is eager to build a diverse pool of talented individuals. UVA Executive Search Group (ESG), an internal executive search firm in the Office of the President, is partnering with Darden to conduct this search.

Confidential inquiries and nominations should be directed to Adam Seid, Senior Search Consultant, at seid@virginia.edu . To apply, submit a letter of interest and resume via this Workday announcement. The search will be carried out with full confidentiality and will remain open until filled.

The University of Virginia, i ncluding the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician's Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.